Coach Roger Schmidt assured this Friday that Benfica maintains confidence, despite having suffered two defeats in four days, and will show it on Saturday, against Desportivo de Chaves, in the Primeira Liga.
“I have to see the whole picture, you look at two defeats and you see things differently. It’s normal, you had to wait nine months for our defeats to have a different topic to talk about. I understand it, but our confidence is not affected”, the German fired, at a press conference, in Seixal, who sees the Chaves meeting as a “new opportunity”.
“It’s not an easy game, but of course we’re ready. We are very confident. Even having lost two games in four days, we still have the confidence to play good football and believe in ourselves. In training I see a team Looking to the future, very motivated and I will show it tomorrow. [sábado]”, he stated.
Schmidt recognized, on the other hand, that the team was not “at the best level” against FC Porto, in the last matchday, but recalled that, before that defeat (2-1), they won “the first ten games” of the 11 played “in the second half of the season.”
Regarding the defeat against Inter Milan, on Tuesday, in the Champions League quarterfinals, the coach insisted on the idea that “the players on the field were still fresh and even so they knew how to create chances”, to justify the fact that they have only made one substitution.
“I trust all the players, but during the game I make decisions based on what we need on the pitch. In this case, we needed goals and I trust the players who were on the field. [para marcar]so I only made one substitution, with David Neres”, highlighted Schmidt.
And despite being the only substitute used by the coach in the defeat against the Italians, the Brazilian striker left the pitch at Estádio da Luz “disappointed”, but that “is not a problem” for the coach.
“He was disappointed because we lost, because he provided a very good assist, but Gonçalo [Ramos] he failed to make it 2-1. And, of course, I was disappointed that he didn’t start, but we talked about it and he left. It is not a problem”, assumed the German.
Benfica visits Desportivo de Chaves on Saturday, in a match of the 28th round of the 1st Portuguese Football League, starting at 6:00 p.m., at the Estádio Engenheiro Manuel Branco Teixeira, with refereeing by João Pinheiro (AF Braga).
The team led by Roger Schmidt will try to get back to winning ways, after suffering two consecutive defeats, against FC Porto (2-1) and Inter Milan (2-0) in the last two games.
The Reds lead the I Liga, with 71 points, seven more than the ‘dragons’, with seven games remaining for the end of the championship.
Source: TSF
